The two sides have been working on a framework for a future agreement ever since US President Donald Trump and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker met in July to try and defuse trade tensions.

A statement issued after that meeting referenced the potential abolition of tariffs, non-tariff barriers, and subsidies for industrial goods.

At the start of a meeting Friday to discuss trade, ministers called for quick movement on negotiations, suggesting that Trump might turn his attention back to trade now that the US midterm elections are over.

"It's important we speed up the process," said Austrian Economic Affairs Minister Margarete Schramboeck, whose country chairs the rotating EU presidency. "Time is not our friend."

The European Commission would need a mandate for formal talks, requiring input from the EU member states and European Parliament. ■